Laundry machine and a dump valve therefor



March 8, 1966 w. c. FILES LAUNDRY MACHINE AND A DUMP VALVE THEREFOR Filed April 28, 1964 5 Z w M 7 ma\ WW. I.% W .fi wru M 5 Q. M. w ww at Qfi United States Patent 3,238,751 LAUNDRY MACHINE AND A DUNIP VALVE THEREFOR William Courtney Files, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to McGraw-Edisou Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 363,148 12 Claims. (Cl. 68-208) This invention relates to dump valves and, more particularly, to dump valves for discharging fluid from the tub of a horizontal washing machine.

One type of laundry appliance is provided with a washer-extractor cylinder which is rotated about a horizontal axis. The work is washed in such devices at a relatively low tumbling speed and, thereafter, the rotational speed of the cylinder is increased to centrifugally extract liquid from the load through perforations in the cylinder. When the cylinder is accelerated toward the centrifugal extraction speed, there is a large amount of liquid thrown out of the saturated load of fabric through the perforated cylinder wall. The bulk of the extracted liquid is discharged within a relatively short period of time, after which the quantity of extracted liquid tapers off. The liquid thus forceably ejected into the space between the cylinder and the encircling tub tends to cumulate and act as a drag on the rapidly rotating cylinder, unless it can be cleared out of the tub quickly. One prior art means for rapidly discharging the extracted fluid has been to employ a dump valve which extends for a substantial portion of the cylinder length. The latter employs hollow rubber valve elements which close the valve opening upon being inflated. This has not been wholly satisfactory, however, because the rubber valve elements tend to deteriorate with age and use and are costly to replace.

It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved dump valve for rapidly discharging the fluid from a horizontal washer-extractor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a laundry appliance durnp valve which is simple, low in cost and easy to maintain.

Another object of the invention is to provide the dump valve for the tub of a laundry appliance wherein a tub discharge valve opening extends for a substantial portion of the tub length and wherein an elongate rigid member is operative to move sealing means into and out of engagement with the periphery of the valve opening. A more specific object of the invention is to provide such a dump valve assembly wherein each of the opposite ends of the elongate rigid member is carried by motive means for movement into and out of engagement with the valve opening.

These and other objects and advantages of the instant invention will become more apparent from the detailed description thereof taken with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a washing machine incorporating the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along lines 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates the dump valve according to the instant invention in its open position; and

3,238,751 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 FIG. 6 schematically illustrates means for moving the dump valve to its alternate positions.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a washer-extractor 10 having a perforated washerextractor cylinder 11 which is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis by means which are not shown but which are well known in the art. A tub 12 surrounds the cylinder 11 for holding the fluid during a washing operation and for receiving fluid discharged from the cylinder 11 during the extracting operation. End walls 13 close the tub 12 and the entire assembly is surrounded by an outer casing 14.

A pair of end to end drain assemblies 15 open into suitable openings 16 in the bottom of the tub 12. The drain assemblies 15 are identical and, accordingly, only one will be discussed in detail, for the sake of brevity. While it will be appreciated that the drain assembly 15 may take any convenient form, in the illustrated embodiment it is shown to include an inclined floor plate 17 which is aflixed at one end to one side of the periphery of the opening 16 and slants away from said opening in a direction tangent to the tub 12 and in the direction of cylinder rotation which in FIG. 1 is counterclockwise. An end wall and valve opening for the drain assembly 15 is formed at the lower end of the floor plate 17, as seen in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, by a channel member 18 suitably affixed at its upper end to the underside of the tub 12 and an angle member 19 suitably afiixed to the lower edge of floor plate 17. The lower surface 20 of the channel member 18 and the upper surface 21 of the angle member 19, which are spaced apart from each other along their entire lengths, form an elongate rectangular discharge opening 22 for the drain assembly 15 facing in the direction of cylinder rotation. A pair of end plates 24 provide sidewalls for the drain assembly 15 and are shaped to register with the side marginal edges of the tub opening 16 and the corresponding ends of the floor plate 17, the channel member 18 and the angle mem ber 19.

While two drain assemblies 15 are shown, it will be understood that a single correspondingly longer assembly may also be employed, the instant construction being preferable when the cylinder 11 is divided by a transverse panel, not shown.

A dump valve closure assembly 30, according to the instant invention, is provided for closing the discharge port openings 22. The closure assembly 30 includes an elongate, relatively rigid, metallic bar 32 which according to the illustrated embodiment is hollow and rectangular in cross-section, although it will be appreciated that it may take any suitable form.

A pair of sealing strips 33 are affixed to the face of the bar 32 opposite the discharge port openings 22 in any suitable manner such as by cement and a plurality of screws 34. It will be appreciated that the strips 32 are at least co-extensive with and preferably slightly larger than their associated openings 22 in the drain assemblies 15 so that when the bar 32 is in its closed position shown in FIG. 4, the openings 22 will be sealed.

While it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the bar 32 may be displaced between its closed position shown in FIG. 4 and its open position shown in FIG. 5 by any suitable means, a pair of air motors 35 are provided for this purpose in the illustrated embodiment. Each of the air motors 35 includes a cylinder 36 and a piston 37 which carries a piston rod 38. The air motors 35 are preferably of the type where .piston rod 38 extends through the opposite ends of the cylinder 36 through sealing bushings 40 so that the forward end of the rod 38 may be secured to the bar 32 while the other end provides added support and prevents binding due to the weight of bar 32.

Each of the opposite ends of the bar 32 extends outwardly through openings 42 formed in the end walls 13 for engagement With the forward end of its associated piston rod 38. The air motor cylinders 36 are afl'ixed by L-shaped brackets 43 to the outer surface of its associated end wall 13 and adjacent the opening 42 formed therein.

The forward portion of the piston rod 38 is threaded and fits with registering clearance openings 46 formed in the opposite faces of the bar 32. Nuts 48, which are threadably received on the forward end of the rod 38, adjustably secure the bar 32 to the rod 38 and position the bar relative to the opening 22 in the drain assembly 15. A pair of thick rubber washers 49 are provided between the bar 32 and the nuts 48 so that the bar will'be self-aligning with the opening 22 when the sealing strip 33 is moved into sealing contact with the edge of the opening 22. provided between the nuts '48 and the rubber washers 50.

The illustrated air motors 35 are preferably of the double-acting type and their corresponding ends are connected in parallel to each other and to a suitable valve 52 by conduits 53 and 54 to provide simultaneous operation. The valve 52 is of a type which selectively admits air to either conduit while exhausting the other to atmosphere. It can be seen, therefore, that operation of valve 52 in a first sense will admit air to the front inlet of the valve cylinders 36 through conduit 54 so that the bar 32 will be moved away from the discharge ports 22 While operation of the valve 52 in an opposite sense will admit pressure to the back ends of the cylinders 36 through conduit 53 to move bar 32 toward the discharge ports 22.

The air motors 35 will be of proper dimensions and so positioned that when drain closure is effected by admitting air to the forward ends of the cylinders 37 through conduit '53, there will be some clearance between the pistons 37 and the end of the cylinders 36. On the other hand, when the pistons 37 reach the limit oftheir movement in the opposite direction, the bar 32 will be at the required distance from the openings 22 in the drain assemblies 15 as shown in FIG. 5. The threaded mountings allow some adjustment in this respect.

During normal operation of the machine, the bar 32 is in its position shown in FIG. 4, wherein the sealing strip 33 is against the peripheral edge of the openings 22 and the tub 12 is sealed. When the extraction operation is to be performed, pressure is applied to the back of the cylinders 36 through conduit 54 and the bar 32 is moved away from the openings 22 to its position shown in FIG. so that the extracted fluid may discharge through the drain assemblies 15, against the face of the bar 32 and down through a floor drain which is not shown but is well known in the art.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and desecribed, it is not intended to be limited thereby but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a laundry appliance having a perforated rotatable work treating enclosure, tub means surrounding said enclosure, an opening in said tub means and extending for a substantial portion of the length thereof, closure means for said opening including an elongate member disposed in a substantially parallel relation relative thereto, elongate sealing means on said elongate member and opposed to said opening, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening first and second motive means each including a first stationary part coupled to receive an actuating quantity and a second part disposed Within said first part and movable in response to said actuating In addition, flat metal washers 50 may also be 7 quantity, stem means extending from each of said second parts, and means for adjustably connecting each of said stem means to said elongate member, said motive means being operative for moving said elongate member and sealing means into and out of sealing engagement with said opening upon the application of an actuating quantity to each of said first parts.

2. In a laundry appliance having a perforated rotatable Work treating cylinder, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into said tub means and having a discharge opening extending for a substantial portion of the length thereof, closure means for said opening including a rigid elongate member having a surface disposed in opposed relation relative to said opening, elongate sealing means on said surface, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening, and a pair of motive means each having a coupling member disposed substantially normal to the axis of said elongate member, adjustable means for adjustably coupling each of said coupling members adjacent one end of said elongate member, said motive means being operable to move said elongate member and sealing means into and out of engagement with said opening, and resilient means disposed between said adjustable means and said elongate member so that said elongate sealing means may be snugly seated against said opening.

3. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into the bottom of said tub means and having a discharge opening extending for a susbtantial portion of the length thereof; closure means for said opening including an elongate bar, said bar having one surface at least as large as said opening and disposed in opposed relation relative thereto, elongate sealing means on said surface, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening, and a pair of fluid motor means each including a cylinder and a piston disposed Within said cylinder, stem means extending from each of said pistons and arranged generally parallel with each other, and means for adjustably connecting one of said stem means adjacent each end of said bar, said fluid motors being operative to move said bar and sealing means into and out of sealing engagement with said opening.

4. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into said tub means and having a portion substantially tangent to said cylinder and extending in the direc tion of rotation thereof, said drain means having an opening at the remote end of said portion and extending for a substantial portion of the length of tub means, closure means for said opening including an elongate bar being at least as large as said opening and disposed in opposed relation relative thereto, elongate resilient sealing means mounted on said bar and opposed to said opening, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening, a pair of motive means each including a first stationary part coupled to receive an actuating quantity and a second part disposed within said first part and movable in response to said quantity, stem means extending from each of said second parts and arranged generally parallel with each other, and means for adjustably connecting each of said stem-means in spaced apart relation to said bar, said motive means being operative for moving said bar and sealing means into and out of engagement with said opening upon the application of an actuating quantity to each of said first parts.

5. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into the bottom of said tub means and having a portion substantially tangent to said cylinder and extending in the direction of rotation thereof, said drain means having an opening at the remote end of said portion and extending for a substantial portion of the length of said tub means, closure means for said opening including a hollow elongate bar, said bar being rectangular in crosssection and having one surface at least as large as said opening and disposed in opposed relation relative thereto, resilient sealing means aflixed to said surface and being of a size to seal said opening, and a pair of fluid motor means each having a coupling member disposed substantially normal to the axis of said bar, adjustable means for adjustably coupling each of said coupling members to one end of said bar, said fluid motors being operable to move said bar and sealing means into and out of engagement with said opening, and resilient means disposed between said adjustable means and said bar so that said resilient sealing means may be snugly seated against said opening.

6. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into the lower end of said tub means and having an opening extending for a substantial portion of the length of said tub means, closure means for said opening including an elongate member having a surface at least as large as said opening and disopsed in opposed relation relative thereto, elongate sealing means aflixed to said surface and mounted on said member in opposed relation to said opening, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening, a pair of motor means each having a first part coupled to receive an actuating quantity and a second part disposed in operative association with said first part and movable in response to said quantity, stem means extending from each of said second parts and being substantially normal to the axis of said elongate member, means for adjustably connecting each of said stern means to one end of said elongate member, said motor means being operable to move said elongate member and sealing means into and out of engagement with said opening.

7. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into the lower end of said tub means and having an opening extending for a substantial portion of the length of said tub means, closure means for said opening including an elongate bar having a surface at least as large as said opening and disposed in opposed relation relative thereto, elongate resilient sealing means aflixed to said surface and mounted on said bar in opposed relation to said opening, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening, a pair of fluid motor means each having a coupling member disposed substantially normal to the axis of said bar, nut means for adjustably coupling each of said coupling members to one end of said bar, said fluid motor means being operable to move said bar and sealing means into and out of engagement with said opening, and resilient means disposed between said nut means and said bar so that said resilient sealing means may be snugly seated against said opening.

8. In a laundry appliance having a perforated Work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, elongate drain means opening into the lower end of said tub means and having a portion substantially tangent to said cylinder and extending in the direction of rotation thereof, said drain means having an elongate opening at the remote end of said portion and extending for a substantial portion of the length of said tub means, closure means for said opening including a hollow elongate bar, said bar being rectangular in cross-section and having one surface at least as large as said opening and disposed in opposed relation relative thereto, resilient sealing means afiixed to said surface in opposed relation to said opening, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening, a pair of fluid motor means each having a coupling member disposed substantially normal to the axis of said bar, nut means for adjustably coupling each of said coupling members to one end of said bar, said fluid motor means being operable to move said bar and sealing means into and out of engagement with said opening, and resilient washer means disposed between said nut means and said bar so that said resilient sealing means may be snugly seated against said opening.

9. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, a pair of elongate drain means opening into the lower end of said tub means and each having a portion substantially tangent to said cylinder and extending in the direction of rotation thereof, said drain means being disposed in endwise relation and each having an opening at the remote end of said portion and extending for a substantial portion of the length of said tub means, closure means for said openings including a hollow elongate bar, said bar being rectangular in cross-section and having one surface at least as large as said openings and disposed in opposed relation relative thereto, a pair of resilient sealing members aflixed to said surface and each disposed in opposed relation to one of said openings, each of said sealing means being of a size to seal its respective opening, a pair of fluid motor means each having a coupling member disposed substantially normal to the axis of said bar, nut means for adjustably coupling each of said coupling members to one end of said bar, said fluid motor means being operable to move said bar and each of said sealing means into and out of engagement with said openings, and resilient washer means disposed between said nut means and said bar so that each of said resilient sealing means may be snugly seated against its respective opening.

10. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into the bottom of said tub means and having a discharge opening extending for a substantial portion of the length thereof, closure means for said opening including a rigid member and elongate sealing means on said rigid member and being of a size to seal said opening, first and second fluid motor means each including a cylinder and a piston disposed within said cylinder, stem means extending from each of said pistons, and means for adjustably connecting each of said stem means to said rigid member, said fluid motor means being operative to move said sealing means into and out of sealing engagement with said opening.

11. In a laundry appliance having a rotatable perforated work treating cylinder, tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into said tub means and having a portion substantially tangent to said cylinder and extending in the direction of rotation thereof, said drain means having an opening at the remote end of said portion and extending for a substantial portion of the length of tub means, closure means for said opening including an elongate rigid member at least as large as said opening and disposed in opposed relation relative thereto, elongate sealing means on said rigid member and opposed to said opening, said sealing means being of a size to seal said opening, first and second motive means each including a first part coupled to receive an actuating quantity and a second part operatively associated with said first part and movable in response to said quantity, stem means extending from each of said second parts, and means for adjustably coupling each of said stem means to said rigid member in spaced apart relation, said motive means being operative for moving said rigid member and sealing means into and out of engagement with said opening upon the application of an actuating quantity to said first parts.

12. In a laundry appliance having a perforated work treating cylinder and tub means surrounding said cylinder, drain means opening into said tub means and having an opening extending for a substantial portion of the length thereof, closure means for said opening including an elongate rigid member disposed in opposed relation to said opening, elongate resilient sealing means afiixed to said rigid member in opposed relation to said opening, said sealing means being of the size to seal said opening, a pair of fluid motor means each having a cylinder and a piston, stem means extending from said pistons substantially normal to the axis of said rigid member, adjustment means for adjustably coupling each of said stern means to one end of said rigid member, said fluid motor means being operable to move said rigid member and sealing into and out of engagement with said opening, and resilient means disposed between said adjustment means and said rigid member so that said resilient sealing means may be snugly seated against said opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Pointon 68-21O Ries 68-208 X Harvey 68208 X Spencer 68-24 X Bus 251144 X Stram 251144 X Werner et al. 682O8 X WILLIAM I, PRICE, Primary Examiner.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Examiner. 

1. IN A LAUNDRY APPLIANCE HAVING A PERFORATED ROTATABLE WORK TREATING ENCLOSURE, TUB MEANS SURROUNDING SAID ENCLOSURE, AN OPENING IN SAID TUB MEANS AND EXTENDING FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE LENGTH THEREOF, CLOSURE MEANS FOR SAID OPENING INCLUDING AN ELONGATE MEMBER DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RELATION RELATIVE THERETO, ELONGATE SEALING MEANS ON SAID ELONGATE MEMBER AND OPPOSED TO SAID OPENING, SAID SEALING MEANS BEING OF A SIZE TO SEAL SAID OPENING FIRST AND SECOND MOTIVE MEANS EACH INCLUDING A FIRST STATIONARY PART COUPLED TO RECEIVE AN ACTUATING QUANTITY AND A SECOND PART DISPOSED WITHIN SAID FIRST PART AND MOVABLE IN RESPONSE TO SAID ACTATING QUANTITY, STEM MEANS EXTENDING FROM EACH OF SAID SECOND PARTS, AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY CONNECTING EACH OF SAID STEM MEANS TO SAID ELONGATE MEMBER, SAID MOTIVE MEANS BEING OPERATIVE FOR MOVING SAID ELONGATED MEMBER AND SEALING MEANS INTO AND OUT OF SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID OPENING UPON THE APPLICATION OF AN ACTUATNG QUANTITY TO EACH OF SAID FIRST PARTS. 